Facing a 15 percent cut to IT spending, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Office of Information Technology needed to reduce costs while providing employees with the access to mobile technologies to remain productive.

In October 2012, EEOC pioneered a “bring your own device” (BYOD) pilot program. The program gave employees the opportunity to use their personal smartphones for business, ridding the agency of many government-issued devices. EEOC was one of the first agencies to implement a structured BYOD initiative.

The primary goals of the program were to help the agency overcome an austere reduction to its annual IT budget and provide choice of mobile devices for agency employees.

Prior to the BYOD program, EEOC was spending $800,000 per year on 560 government-furnished devices. After evaluating the agency’s hardware usage, the agency found that many of these devices were not being used and uncovered billing errors. To reduce these costs, all “zero use” devices were disconnected.

In addition, the agency moved all remaining devices to a single shared plan. This allowed EEOC to cut down the number of government-furnished devices by 100 and cut costs by 30 percent. Finally, employees were given the option to opt-out of their government-issued devices and instead use their own. This brought the number of agency devices to 360. Rate plan optimization and the BYOD program cut wireless service spending by nearly 50 percent within the first year.

With further reductions projected over the next three years, EEOC has become a pioneer in BYOD. In fact, the agency was recognized as a leader in this area when it was featured in the CIO Council’s BYOD Toolkit, published in August 2012.

In Fiscal Year 2012, theU.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) introduced an enhanced telework and work space sharing pilot program to the Boston and San Francisco field offices. The governing principles for the pilot program are to maintain GAO’s historical levels of quality and productivity, reduce infrastructure and transit costs, and provide enhanced flexibility for employee’s work/life balance. The program gave GAO employees participating in expanded telework of 50 percent or more of their schedule the option to receive a suite of tools at their alternate worksites – including a laptop, monitor, docking station, and file cabinet, desktop video conferencing software and camera, and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) application and headset. In addition, the agency offered training to ensure employees were comfortable and competent using the hoteling reservation system, desktop video conferencing, and VoIP.

The pilot helped GAO realize a cost savings of $1.2 million in lease and security costs. In addition to these savings, the pilot program reduced the offices’ physical footprint by nearly half, and reduced transit benefits in San Francisco (9.2 percent) and in Boston (12.9 percent). Not only that, the program also reported a 6.5 percent increase in average telework participation – rising to three or more days per pay period.

A survey found that employees who participated in the pilot experienced no change in the productivity or quality of their work product. Additionally, 98 percent of employees from work teams that included an expanded teleworker reported positive or the same feedback on employees participating in the pilot.

As a result of this success, GAO is currently expanding these pilots to 5 additional field locations, with the expectation of additional dollar savings and increased telework participation. GAO’s mission focused commitment to workplace flexibility and investment in technology facilitated the smooth transition to an enhanced telework environment quickly and without disruption to teamwork or the work product.

Sheri F. Sheehan exemplifies outstanding leadership. As the Division Chief, Intake Operations Division at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Office of Intake and Document Production (OIDP), she supervises a staff of approximately 40 employees in five locations across the country. Today, all OIDP employees are allowed to telework, a significant change from just two years ago when telework was limited to exceptional circumstances such as inclement weather or special accommodations for health reasons.

In an effort to demonstrate the value of telework, Ms. Sheehan developed a daily productivity report based on the staff teleworking one day a week. The report revealed that when comparing the case per hour production of an analyst, the analyst is significantly more productive teleworking than when working in the office. With these findings, Ms. Sheehan expanded the initial telework frequency from one to two days per week. Recently, the telework frequency increased to three days per week.

Ms. Sheehan’s program bolsters productivity under any circumstances, being a key component of the agency’s continuity of operations (COOP) plans. In case of emergencies and inclement weather, her staff is instructed to telework to ensure there is no stoppage in agency operations.

In addition, staff is allowed to telework on a work day preceding and/or following a holiday, saving employees commuting time, promoting better work/life balance, and enhancing morale in the workplace.

Ms. Sheehan is a widely respected leader, using telework to boost productivity and employees morale at the Office of Intake and Document Production.

Largest Leap in Telework/Mobility
Organization: U.S. Department of the Interior
Program: Office of Inspector General, Telework Program

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General (OIG)’s telework program initially launched in 2009. The office set forth an aggressive task to improve the work-life balance of employees, reduce commute times, cut real estate costs, and ensure continuity of operations in times of emergencies. Its focus is not unlike others, but their growth has been monumental. As a benchmark, in year one, the workforce collectively accrued approximately 14,000 hours of telework.

Realizing the need to leap ahead, the OIG pulled together an innovate approach to technology. This strategy has been vital to the success of its telework program. To ensure employees are mobile, the agency implemented an iPad pilot program that enables employees to access documents, track tasks, check emails, and make presentations at any location, therefore reducing the need for and cost of printing documents. Additionally, OIG implemented cloud-based applications, WebEx, Sharepoint, wireless technology, and high-quality conference phones – all focused to maintain communications with supervisors and among teams across geographic boundaries.

By integrating the right technology, in a short period of time, the OIG went from an inconsistent implementation of and resistance to telework to now more than 98 percent participation rate. In 2012, employees accrued close to 80,000 telework hours, and increase of nearly 500 percent.

To further solidify OIG in developing a strong telework program, in the 2012 Best Places to Work survey, the office was ranked eighth among agency subcomponents on work-life balance. Job satisfaction jumped – far exceeding government-wide averages. The East Coast office issued a mandated telework day, demonstrating the high level of preparedness for emergency situations. Finally, the office noted that it is able to save millions in real estate costs over time by closing smaller office locations.

By balancing the introduction of new innovations to cut agency costs and promoting a positive working environment, the OIG has seen tremendous cost savings and higher employee satisfaction through its successful telework leap.

With 136 out of 208 employees having a telework agreement in place, the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) considers telework an integral part of their agency’s mission. In fact, all employees are equipped with laptops and have the capability to telework if necessary.

Serving as the guardian of Federal merit systems, MSPB adjudicates individual employee appeals, conducts merit systems studies, and reviews the actions of the Office of Personnel Management. In order to foster productivity, flexibility, and cost savings for the agency and its employees, MSPB has practiced teleworking for many years and implemented innovative developments to provide every employee with the capability to telework.

In recent years, MSPB replaced all computers with laptops, migrated email to the cloud, implemented a “bring your own device” (BYOD) policy, and developed a public mobile app for smartphones and tablets.

Through the first half of fiscal year 2013, 58 percent of initial appeals to MSPB and 65 percent of case pleadings were filed electronically through MSPB’s e-Appeal online filing portal. MSPB is also piloting the “My Cases” app, allowing employees to review and annotate case files on tablet devices from any location, to help MSPB transition case files from paper to electronic format.

Following the rising trend of mobile devices, MSPB implemented a BYOD program that allows employees to choose the device that works best for them and increases productivity when teleworking. The agency also created a mobile device reimbursement policy, which will save the agency an estimated $10,000 annually for every 20 employees that switch to a personal device.

MSPB is committed to developing its program through new technology, employee input, and experience. Already, the implementation of cloud email and the “My Cases” mobile app are making information accessible from any location. In fact, during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, agency IT staff was able to telework and continue to support MSPB’s regional and field offices. MSPB is an excellent example of how a small agency can enable a mobile workforce and become more productive – and they are passionate about sharing these lessons learned with other government agencies.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Protection & Programs Directorate’s (NPPD) mobility pilot program was designed to focus on transforming NPPD into a leading driver of workplace mobility solutions.

The year-long pilot program, designed in accordance with the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, adopted a strategy that promotes mobility through operational and facilities cost efficiencies, reduced carbon footprint, employee cost savings, and enhanced employee engagement and productivity. The program is designed to enhance employee performance, lower employee turnover, and improve continuity of operations and supporting the DHS real estate strategy. The pilot program demonstrated tangible cost and facility savings, as well as benefits to employees.

NPPD developed a tool – the Mobility Efficiency Tracking Analysis tool (META) – to assess the agency’s current and future returns on mobility investment. META is an innovative survey-based dashboard and scenario forecasting calculator that enables users to establish and track current and forecasted workplace mobility and facilities compression targets.

META provides NPPD leadership with invaluable knowledge to make informed decisions on mobility and facilities compression. The tool enabled the agency to predict an annual facilities cost savings of $3.4 million – helping NPPD make the business case for proceeding with a larger mobility program.

The META tool enables NPPD to make informed decisions around mobility and facilities compression by providing:

Current data on NPPD facilities costs and expenditures on government subsidies for commuting: The agency found that a mobility footprint of about 4 days per pay period results in $3.54M in facilities cost recovery – equivalent to freeing up about 271 current workspaces

Potential savings opportunities for mobile workers, including savings on worker commute times, commuting costs, and carbon emission rates: The agency determined that employees mobile working 4 days per pay period could potentially yield a savings of around 223,000 commuting hours total per year, an average of 177 hours (over 2 full pay periods) per employee

Cost recovery opportunities for NPPD based on scalable levels of workplace mobility and facilities efficiency

Forecasting calculations that identify and target space compression opportunities: The agency determined that it can accommodate 340 new staff in the hiring pipeline at zero impact on footprint, while reducing its real-estate portfolio by 10 percent. Increasing participation in mobility programs will help NPPD support the agency’s critical missions

As a result of metrics and predicted savings learned from the META and the pilot program, NPPD is implementing space design reconfiguration, facilities compression, and information technology strategies to support the growing mobile workforce.

Greatest Growth in Mobile IT
Organization: U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency
Program: DLA Home Use Program

Adopting the philosophy that work is an activity, not a physical location, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) worked to enable a more mobile workforce that could support the agency’s mission anytime, anywhere. To do this, DLA had to implement technology that would allow employees to connect remotely and securely to the agency’s networks.

Implemented in 2012 and currently operating at DLA locations worldwide, the DLA Home Use Program facilitates remote access to the agency’s unclassified network through a virtualized workstation. In addition, DLA implemented an alternate work schedules policy that provides employees with greater flexibility and better quality of life by teleworking two to three days a week. This policy enables the agency workforce to balance personal and professional life, thereby enhancing agency culture.

The agency’s commitment to enabling a mobile workforce was evident when more than 7,000 DLA employees participated in Telework Week 2012. The number of employees eligible to telework at the end of 2012 stood at 61 percent – 44 percent of which opted to do so in December 2012.

Participation in Telework Week 2012 proved helpful when Hurricane Sandy hit later that year. Thanks to the ability to access applications remotely, the agency was able to maintain operations during extreme weather.

Working closely with industry partner Citrix, DLA recognized the need to reduce redundant hardware costs. As such, the agency was able to reduce costs of issuing multiple devices to employees and contractors by enterprise consolidation, publishing virtual applications and enabling access from non-government issued equipment, such as personal home computers. The program is conducive to DLA’s quest to move toward a full “bring your own device” (BYOD) model in 2014-2015.

Ultimately, the Home Use Program has created a more agile workforce that is able to support the mission anytime, anywhere.

State and Local Government Telework/Mobility Program
Organization: Virginia Information Technologies Agency
Program: VITA Telework Program

The Virginia Information Technologies Agency’s (VITA) mission – to provide information technology and services that enable the government to serve its citizens – made it the ideal agency to be the state’s leader and example in mobility and telework initiatives.

Since VITA’s responsibility is to provide services, oversight, and support on all major IT projects throughout the state, its program combines innovative mobile IT enterprises to allow executive branch employees to work securely from anywhere. Using a virtual private network (VPN) client, state employees can safely access their email, files, and applications on the state’s cloud-based system using their own devices.

The program combines initiatives such as “bring your own device” (BYOD), mobile security, and agency virtualization to securely allow 89 percent of VITA employees to telework one or more days per week – up from just 44 percent five years ago. Additionally, as a result of VITA’s success and vision, other state agencies have adopted VPN capabilities, BYOD, increased mobility, and a teleworking model.

The telework model set up by VITA also has had a major impact on employee productivity and satisfaction. VITA employees report higher productivity by working from home and significant cost savings due to reduced commutes.

The agency’s mobility program not only provided an opportunity for its employees to telework, but also accomplishes the task of saving agency money as well. Their BYOD program led the state in the adoption of a policy that gives Virginia agencies the ability to offer a stipend to employees who wish to use their mobile device for work in lieu of a government-furnished device, saving the state money.

VITA has become the state’s most steadfast supporter of mobility, encouraging telework adoption and BYOD programs in all state agencies by providing secure VPN and pushing for the implementation of a mobile policy device and stipend.